Direct observation of the medical trainee by an expert assessor and providing authentic feedback is considered an important tool for development of clinical and procedural skills. Mini-clinical evaluation exercise and Direct Observation of Procedural Skills are two important tools to observe the trainee during a clinical encounter or during a procedure, make an expert standardized (though subjective) observation, and use it to provide developmental feedback. Both can be easily integrated into routine work of clinical departments, and both provide a reliable assessment if 6-8 such encounters are used.